1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the accurate measurement, without destruction, of metal components. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for measuring the ratio of gold in cast cold, or the ratio of other components in a cast material.
2. Description of the Related Art
The gold ratio in cast gold is measured in "carats." The carat is the proportionate weight of one twenty-fourth of the weight of the given body, such as tie ratio of pure gold compared with the alloys. Pure gold has a ratio of 24 carats, that is to say, one hundred percent gold. Workshops and producers of jewelry perform the casting of gold with various alloys. The casting is performed in permanent ratios of alloy to gold and in different types of alloys. "Types" of gold are separated from each other in accordance with the type and/or quantity of alloys in the cast. Casting always causes a change in the ratio of gold found in the cast. Therefore it is necessary to measure the ratio of gold in the cast performed, in carats. The performer of the cast requests to measure the ratio of gold that will be received after the casting.
Today, the known way in which thc manufacturers of jewelry measure the ratio of gold in cast gold in the jewelry they produce, is to take a sample of each cast they performed in the workshop to an assayer, who performs a test of the ratio of gold in the sample in order to break down and separate the various components of the sample for the purpose of calculating the ratio of gold within it. This process is expensive, troublesome, long and cannot always be performed in-house. The present invention makes an immediate test possible, at the location of the production.